SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: EYES WITHOUT A FACE

Sautey’s Eyes Without a face is a surprisingly short French film that packs a lot into the small punch. Seems we have a doctor who is also a leading edge scientist, who is pushing the boundaries of skin grafting and re-attachment. 

Now, it  may look like his methods and reasons are altruistic, but its really all about appeasing his own guilt. He caused a car accident that literally destroyed his daughter‘s entire face. His goal in life is to repair the damage He’s done.  oddly, he has very little emotion regarding it. He moves as if he is a machine and often a mindless one with one singular goal. 

He doesn’t seem sad, he doesn’t seem angry, he doesn’t seem upset. Often one wonders if it’s more about his own successes and marketing himself; it is less about how he feels regarding his daughter. Because how she feels walking around in constant agonizing pain with a horrible ceramic-seeming mask that  makes her look like Tisa Farrow in Zombie; scratch that, Tisa had less emotional movement to her face than the mask. 

Yes, I’m joking. 

Anyway, as stated, the doc’s daughter is clearly in pain constantly, emotionally and physically, and the doc has no regard or time for that. Obviously people aren’t going to donate their face to the cause, so the doctor has to take them, and that is where the complications and the true horror set in. 

This is a wonderfully paced film. It’s only 90 minutes, so it motors by, and all performers are very good. I could’ve done without the score, which seemed like it was largely derived from a circus. 

Eyes Without a Face comes Highly recommended. For 1960,  this one really is kind of edgy as well. 

Coincidentally, the 1984 classic Billy Idol song eyes without a face is absolutely atrocious, minus the Steve Stevens riff- driven bridge halfway through. I just had to say that.

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: OPENING SOME HALLOWEEN SHITE

Here's me, opening some goofy thing I got at Spirit Halloween on clearance last fall:

SAME PROJECT, SEASON SIX: EYES OF LAURA MARS

One of the interesting things about Eyes of Laura Mars is seeing youth on the faces of some people that are among the veterans of Hollywood now. Of course in the supporting character department you have Brad Dourif, who is really good here as a questionable character with his classic twisted intensity.  And you have Tommy Lee Jones, who is obviously a Hollywood legend. Seeing him in his youth here is kind of a surprise, because his career really didn’t take off until he was in his late 40s or early 50s as I recall. Seeing him looking so young had me taken a bit aback. 

Despite all that, Eyes of Laura Mars is a look back at the late 70s fashion scene through crimson eyes. Faye Dunaway plays a character who is a famous photographer of fashion models. She’s reached a phase in her life and career, however, where she has become obsessed with the news, grimness, and violence.  She begins shooting controversial photos that involve her models placed in violent and graphic situations. Of course this goes over negatively and is upsetting people to say the least, especially in the 70s. 

Great (relative terminology) disco music fills the background as Dunaway does some real intense shoots, and you get a glimpse of what may or may not actually have been the fashion scene back in the day. The film is fairly intense as Dunaway’s character starts to see murders of people she cares about taking place remotely. The mystery is who is doing the killing, of course. 

René Auberjonois is terrific as Dunaway‘s manager.  An unsung character actor of his time. The supporting cast in this one is pure 70s perfection all the way. John Carpenter wrote a fairly decent script here and Irving Kirchner‘s direction is very good, if not setting itself apart in a visual sense. The soundtrack smells and feels like Dirty Harry-era Lalo Schifrin, with a touch of Henry Manfredini thrown in for taste. And that ain’t a bad thing.  

Overall, a great flick that was fun to watch and it’s definitely a throwback to the days of the late 70s suspense film.

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: THE CHANGELING

Frani and I went back to 1980 with this classic that she had seen multiple times but I have never really taken in, outside of a couple of legendary scenes that have made documentaries over the years.  We've all seen the ball come down the stairs, or the wheelchair, ad infinitum.  This is not fair to the movie, which has become sort of a minor masterpiece.  

George C. Scott plays a grieving father who has lost his wife and child in a sad, tragic accident on a cold mountain side. I didn’t know that they put payphones out there like that, but hey, who am I to question the placement of public communication?  As he deals with his grief, Scott decides to move to Seattle to get away from it all, and to reengage with himself as a musical composer, one of the best in the business. 

He decides he needs some room, and the local historical society is plenty happy to oblige with a giant property that is creepy as hell, and really why in the fuck would one person wanna live there? It’s like a miniature Overlook, for crying out loud.  Scott's real-life wife, Trish Van DeVere does the heavy lifting in the real estate department. 

He becomes compelled and obsessed with the sounds he’s hearing and the things that seem to be buried in some sort of connection with his loss in life. So this is not only creepy, but at about the halfway point the chills turn to mystery as he investigates WHAT IN THE HELL is exactly going on here.

When it’s all tied together, it twists back into overdrive, bringing the creep factor back in.  The Changeling is one hell of a Halloween chiller, despite the fact that it’s not a gore-ridden splat fest, like so many films of that era were. Nice to see that in the error of the slasher, there were still a few folks thinking about ghost stories. 

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON SIX: AFTER THE MILLENNIUM

After the Millennium is a wonderful,  if overlong look back at the groundbreaking Chris Carter’s series that debuted on this day in 1996. 

There’s some compelling admissions here; like how actor Bill Smitrovich wanted out because of the grim nature of the series, despite signing on at the outset based on the series’ original methodology. He called the gore “buckets of blood” repeatedly as the reason he decided to end his run at the finish of the first season. It’s a shame because his interplay as Bob Bletcher with the lead character Frank Black worked so brilliantly, was extremely formidable, and something that most of us were looking forward to more of. 

It’s great to see Brittney Tiplady all grown-up and sharing stories about being a youth around the varied and legendary cast that also includes Megan Gallagher as her mom.  Gallagher contributes her thoughts at the power of the series and also the occasional disappointment at her lack of substantive moments, despite her powerful ending storyline.

I love the input of the writers, particularly Kay Reindl and Erin Maher from the third season, very insightful stuff.  Kevin Whitley takes on the combination of humor and grue in his scripts. The lack of mention of Jose Chung‘s Doomsday Defense was a bit disappointing.  Especially when you take into account that guest actor Charles Nelson Reilly was nominated for an Emmy for the episode.  Considering the length, they could have fit that in.  Instead, for the quirky episodes, they elected to go with analysis of Somehow Satan Got Behind Me.  Henriksen's take on his initial thoughts on that episode are pretty honest and a tad surprising.  

Although I believe the clip they use of Henriksen punching someone in the nards is from Chung, credited to the Somehow, Satan episode.

Leaders from X-Files fame, Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, had much to say throughout and all of it is deep in emotion, tone and thought.  Never lacking to head into cerebral territory.  The lack of Terry O'Quinn, whose presence as Peter Watts was such an important factor in Millenium, is noticeable.  He does not go without being discussed, however.

Overall, a tad long-winded and perhaps dry to the outsider, but there is plenty of meat on these bones for the Ouroboros fanatic to gnaw on. 

It goes out on a terrific “what could be” hashing of ideas, and all involved say what they would love to do to rebreathe life into the series, or even go out on as a coda. 

After the Millennium is a pretty good look back at a wonderful series led by Frank Black himself, Lance Henriksen.  His reminiscences are of an odd chuckling nature, like a storytelling pater familia, and they are anathema to the grim stone-faced character he played on the show.  In many ways, as he was the face of the show, his now gray, weathered countenance overhangs this retrospective with the same power, if not wizened humor. 

His walk off as he chortles is something to rewatch.  

Happy 30th, Frank Black. 

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: HOKUM

Hokum is a damn nifty little horror film. One of the best I’ve seen in a long time. It not only has moments that will actually make you jump (and there are several), it has tons of tone and atmosphere. Atmosphere that is extremely well set up by the moaning and humming that make up a large portion of the eerie score. I was trying to picture a person conducting a session to create this music, not getting goosebumps and the creeps from the process. There are also John Carpenter-esque segments to the score that are just outlandishly powerful. 

Adam Scott, who normally plays an asshole, (key moment: Stepbrothers) occupies another one here as an author who goes to Ireland to pay homage to his dead parents and dispose of their ashes in a place he felt would be appropriate. He ends up getting wrapped up in the legend of a witch in the honeymoon suite of the hotel he’s staying at. Horrific imagery, shocks, and hellscape auditory performances abound. 

Contrary to his nature, he gets involved in helping another,, and that’s when the true creepiness of this film truly settles in. Consider it an edgier, ethnic 1408. Scott is terrific, whether annoying, morose, or horrified. The supporting cast of Irish folks is also wonderful, and they inject just enough humor in here to lighten things enough to make you shit your pants that much more when Hokum brings the hammer down. It also takes place right around Halloween, so it’s perfect for this time of year.

 A five star Samhain project special.  Great stuff. 

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: SOME HORROR COMICS

I've blathered on here a little about how I'm not really into horror comics.  But George Romero's Creepshow and Tales From the Crypt, my flirtation with the early 70's Fleischer/Aparo Spectre series has kind of brought me around a little.  So I've come across a couple titles for a few pence, and it being Halloween, I thought I'd make it fit into The Project. 

1974:  Secrets of Sinister House:  

I'd not even heard of this title until I stumbled across it at an Allen Mercantile. Great fonts and cover art drew me to it.  Secrets definitely fits the "morality tale" aspect of the medium.  The story from this issue I chose was the grim The House That Death Built.  Much like the ghost story in John Carpenter's The Fog, you have a disgusting soul who sets beach fires to draw 1800's ships to the rocks and their dooms.  At that point, he and his crew go to looting the remains of the sunken vessels.  This guy, whose cheapness only barely outreaches his greed, decides to build a manse from the timbers of the murdered ships.  You can see where it goes from there.  Great ghoulish fun, with your standard comic writing, I was not disappointed. 

1979: Unexpected dollar comic:  

I hinted at this book here, in Full Circle.  The story that belongs to the cover images is a short one entitled Ozzie & Mary.  Obviously poking fun at Donnie & Marie, you have a television pair of siblings who appear to be America's darlings on camera, but behind it, not even close.  Once again, greed exceeds familial love, and "Ozzie" decides to plan an awful on-camera prank on "Mary", and from there it pinwheels out of control, like all morality tales do.  As disturbing as it looked to me as an 8 year old, when I was so shaken by the cover?  Nah.  On a side note, that ad that I mentioned in Full Circle, is also within the comic itself!  How Meta!

1969 Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery (Gold Key)

I didn't get many Gold Key titles as a kid.  One I still have is the comic version of Disney's Aristocats.  What a wonderful piece of Amazing from the late 60's!  Anyhoo, the tale The Medium may be the most satisfying of all the entries in today's piece of work.  You can literally hear Mr. Karloff narrating the intro and outro to the tale as you read his words next to his four-color visage.  You have a medium, a self centered fake, a money-grubbing con artist, who decides to visit the competition.  And when he finds out his competitor may be the real deal, rather than learning a thing or two, he engages his own personality to wonderfully grim morality tale outcomes!

All 3 of these were a ton of fun, and as I reach my mid 50's, I realize the Bronze age of comics, in terms of writing and art, are looking more and more like they will blend into the Silver.  This makes me sad as I read modern titles here and there. The difference is incredible in both the physical and literary productions. Everything moves forward as time does, and that's a lesson I'm having a hard time accepting.